Lucinda Literaryhttp://www.lucindaliterary.com
Publicity and Literary Agency for Authors and BooksMon, 23 Apr 2018 20:45:40 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.646000504Before You Seek a Lecture Agent: How to Get Paid For Speakinghttp://www.lucindaliterary.com/2018/03/get-lecture-agent-get-paid-speaking/
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For many authors, speaking can be a key avenue to selling books as well as a lucrative side hustle. But a common misconception is that having a lecture agent is the only way to obtain paid speaking opportunities. We routinely receive queries from authors seeking lecture representation, but who might not yet be at the stage where a lecture agent is required. For those authors who love public speaking, believe they have a unique and insightful talk to offer, and wish to learn how to better navigate the speaking world, we hope these insights we’ve learned in the trenches will help.

To get booked as a speaker or to acquire representation, first consider the kinds of criteria of questions event bookers and lecture agents will look for:

Do you have a professional-looking website, bio, video, or speaking reel that demonstrates your abilities as a speaker and the kind of audience you speak to?

Are you currently receiving invitations to speak, and if so, what is your quoted fee?

What communities are you connected in (e.g. business, academic, nonprofit, social, digital)? How recognized, present, or active (via social media) are you in these communities?

What kind of press attention have you and/or your book received?

If you have positive responses to all four questions, excellent! You are well-positioned to seek lecture representation. But if you’re still building these tools, you may find more immediate gratification in developing your own speaking platform than seeking an agency to do it for you.

Here are a few best practices we recommend for getting paid lecture gigs entirely on your own:

Develop carefully curated speaking topics based on your book or expertise. Look at how other author-speakers are positioning themselves—get a feel for the market. Make your speaking topics stand out as unique and/or perfectly tailored to the audiences to which you wish to speak. For instance, if you’re pitching corporations, what kind of employees would benefit from your talk? Why are you the right expert to give it? Brainstorm creative takeaways you can include in your talk. Your pitch should always focus on audience engagement and the key takeaways your audience will receive. Is your talk immersive—does it feature activities, workshop aspects, a quiz/assessment, signed books?

Recognize that exposure is king. Speaking gigs beget more speaking gigs (if you’ve performed well)! Seek opportunities that could have domino effect potential. Ask: will the event be broadcasted, well-promoted? Is the audience large, or small but influential? Will there be potential buyers in the room? Speaking for 30 people at a library could be wonderful for promoting your book but not do a thing to promote you as a speaker. Event bookers are less likely to find you at a library than at a major conference in your city, for example.

Engage your network. If you’re someone who keeps an email list or a spreadsheet of contacts (we suggest all authors do, in addition to LinkedIn!), you’ll be surprised to find just how many valuable connections you have. Can any of these connections bring about speaking opportunities? First approach those you know directly. Express your interest in speaking, ask politely for their consideration or assistance, enclose your “signature” talk or book topic, and include assets, like a video clip, speaking topics, organizations/conferences that have hosted you previously. If you have a warm connection to a corporation or nonprofit, you’re more likely to be ratcheted up to the right people booking events.

Seek the expertise of a speaking coach. You may think you’re a terrific public speaker, but even the best author-speakers typically have, or originally did have, a speaking coach. A professional coach can up your game, connect you with bookers in their network, and expand your range of opportunities. (Our authors rave about Terri Trespicio and Paula Rizzo of Lights Camera Expert.)

Invest in a professional video clip or reel. One of the first requests we receive from those interested in booking speakers is for video footage. Investing in a professional reel or minimally, having a compelling short video clip of a talk you’ve given, is an essential part of your speaking package. And make sure that footage captures a large, engaged audience! If you plan to make a career or part-time job of speaking, you might consider trying to get the attention of a local TedX.

Collect testimonials. This is self-explanatory. Especially if you’re offering your time for free, it’s hardly an imposition to request a testimonial! Feature these testimonials (with or without logos) on your website and wherever you are submitting yourself as a speaker.

Tap into the wider community of speakers. The author-speaker community is generally a collegial one. Those you connect with, more often than not, are open to sharing advice or even leads—new opportunities they can point you toward. Depending on how close you are or how generous the person from whom you’re receiving advice, perhaps your speaker acquaintance will offer a personal referral.

While speaking is a competitive industry, the market need for speakers remains vibrant. Whether you have a lecture agent or not, an author must be the first and strongest champion of his or her speaking career. We’d love to hear how you’ve put these tips (or others) into practice!

]]>http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2018/03/get-lecture-agent-get-paid-speaking/feed/08084My Book is on Submission with Publishers. Now What?http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2018/01/book-submission-publishers-now/
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You’ve been back and forth with your agent for months creating the perfect book proposal—making sure every argument you’ve made is unassailable, that every indent, line break, and page break is perfectly positioned, and that every t is crossed and i dotted. Your interactions are so frequent that when your phone alerts you to a new voicemail or email, it’s more likely to be your agent than anyone else.

Or perhaps you haven’t been working with an agent, but you’ve been toiling away on a novel, and after months (or years) of developing it, you’ve decided to try your chances with publishers directly. You’ve sent your baby out into the world.

The waiting is HARD. For some, the hardest stage. Below are some useful activities that will help you, and/or your agent, as you await the verdict.

Productive Activity #1: Focus energies on your online presence

If a publishing house is considering acquiring your book, there are multiple people involved in that decision, and feedback from Sales, Marketing, and Publicity will all be weighed. The very first thing someone considering your book will do after reading your proposal is look you up online. What you want them to find is substantial information around you—whether your writing, your story, your brand, or your work. They’ll also want to see an active social media presence, one that shows engagement from a number of people. (For nonfiction authors, the barrier for a social media following is higher than ever. One publisher recently quoted me that 40k fans on Facebook and an email list of 15k is what they now consider a threshold for acquisitions.) Even if you’re not near this number, the single best thing you can do is continue to build your online credibility while your book is on submission.

Journalist?—Have a Wikipedia page. Blogger?—Encourage your fan base to show their support on social media at this critical time. Novelist?—Build even a simple personal website that showcases your writing clips and offers a sense of who you are as a person.

Productive Activity #2: Read comparable titles as research or inspiration for the book you plan to publish

The writers we work with, and who succeed in getting book deals, share something major in common: conviction in their ideas. For these writers, where there’s a will there’s a way, and even if a given publisher doesn’t share their view, they’re going to write the book regardless, because the research is just that fascinating, or the process just that rewarding. Once your proposal or manuscript is with your agent or with publishers and out of your hands, why not begin collecting notes, or reading those comparable titles if you haven’t already to serve as research or inspiration in crafting your own book. Treat this waiting time as an opportune moment to further educate yourself in the marketplace and more critically understand the gap your book can fill.

Productive Activity #3: Be patient and fill your time actively

It’s understandable that the silence can be deafening—especially since up until this moment, you’ve been in constant dialogue with someone about your proposal. But silence isn’t always a bad thing. Given the number of people at a publishing house who need to weigh in before an offer can be made, even a very interested editor could be getting second reads or speaking with those diverse parties involved. And many agents won’t, with good reason, reveal everything they’re hearing until there’s a final verdict. Also know that submissions sometimes happen in rounds. Not receiving an offer on the first round doesn’t mean that you won’t receive one on the second.

While waiting, engage in activities that will help your book’s success—possibly this is going on a local radio or television show, penning a post for a widely read journal or blog, securing a blurb for your book, or any number of things individual to your project that aren’t outlined above.

Productive Activity #4: Constructively follow up, at the right time

After several weeks, it’s completely reasonable to follow up with your agent for a pulse check on what he or she is hearing. When you do follow up, ask if there’s anything helpful you could be doing. You are not bothering or doubting your representative’s abilities by checking in—you’re simply acting like a business partner, which you are. Optionally, you can also ask for a list of imprints your agent has submitted to; not to share widely and certainly not to contact the editors directly, but to keep back pocket should you take out the project again. If you’re well-versed in various publishing houses and imprints, you may even suggest someone to add!

If you’re not working with an agent and are submitting your book directly to publishers, several weeks is not a reasonable amount of time to follow up, as publishers give priority to solicited projects from agents. 4-6 weeks may be more appropriate to follow up (for nonfiction, and double that for fiction), but when you do, it should be with an update of interest, i.e. I’ve just been featured on x media outlet; my blog post on y has gone viral and received z number of shares; a well-known author has offered the following blurb, etc. In absence of having those updates to share, you could go for something very personal and heartfelt: “as you’re the editor of [x comparable title], a novel that significantly influenced my own writing, any reactions you’ve had thus far would be especially meaningful to me…” continuing to say that your utmost wish would be a home with this particular publisher.

You shouldn’t write this love letter to everyone; only to those for whom it really applies.

Have I addressed every submission question you’re wondering about? If I haven’t, please comment below, and I’m happy to offer further insights!

]]>http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2018/01/book-submission-publishers-now/feed/18024Book Jacket of The Week: The Productivity Projecthttp://www.lucindaliterary.com/2017/08/book-jacket-week-productivity-project/
http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2017/08/book-jacket-week-productivity-project/#respondWed, 30 Aug 2017 19:52:41 +0000http://www.lucindaliterary.com/?p=7900Read more »]]>Our Book Jacket of The Week is Chris Bailey’s The Productivity Project – out this week in paperback from Crown Business! We love the catchy but soothing color scheme, as well as the clear prints that speak with utmost confidence. Most importantly, we think it matches perfectly to the author’s penchant for clarity. However, while we’re vouching for the cover, we think you should dive into what’s inside for an even more rewarding and educational experience! Check out what others have to say on THE PRODUCTIVITY PROJECT, and be sure to follow the author @ALOProductivity.

“Chris Bailey has tackled the daunting task of personally experimenting with any and every technique you can imagine that could positively affect your productivity. His dedication to the project and his intelligent conclusions, combined with his candor and articulateness, make this a fun, interesting, and useful read!” — David Allen, author of Getting Things Done

“Here’s a book that promises, in the title, to pay for itself. And, the truth is, it will, in just a few days. And you’ll even enjoy the journey.” — Seth Godin, author of Linchpin

“So often we get stuck just doing what we have always done, even if it’s not really working. This book helps you cut through all the productivity advice out there to find and test what really works for you.” — Shawn Achor, positive psychology researcher and author of The Happiness Advantage

“Chris doesn’t just want you to be more productive. He wants you to live a better life. This book is a two-hour ticket to not only becoming more productive, but becoming genuinely happier.” — Neil Pasricha, author of The Book of Awesome and The Happiness Equation

“Chris has written the ultimate guidebook for setting your life on fire. Read it, and you’ll not only get more done, you’ll feel better about it too.” — Laura Vanderkam, author of I Know How She Does It

Chris Bailey wrote over 216,000 words on the subject of productivity on his blog, ayearofproductivity.com, during a year long productivity project where he conducted intensive research, as well as dozens of productivity experiments on himself to discover how to become as productive as possible. To date, he has written hundreds of articles on the subject, and has garnered coverage in media as diverse as The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, New York magazine, TED, Fast Company, Real Simple and Lifehacker.

]]>http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2017/08/book-jacket-week-productivity-project/feed/07900Recent Highlights at Lucinda Literary: March 2017http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2017/03/recent-highlights-lucinda-literary-march-2017/
http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2017/03/recent-highlights-lucinda-literary-march-2017/#respondTue, 28 Mar 2017 19:38:07 +0000http://www.lucindaliterary.com/?p=7785Read more »]]>Dr. Susan Peirce Thompson released her new book, Bright Line Eating: The Science of Living Thin, Happy, and Free, which was a New York Times bestseller and #1 New Release on Amazon and continues to take the health and dieting world by storm. We were overjoyed to see Susan at her book launch event at Middle Collegiate Church in New York City, attended by almost 800 people, where Susan rocked the stage to a long standing ovation. Rooted in cutting-edge neuroscience, psychology, and biology, Bright Line Eating explains why people who are desperate to lose weight fail again and again: it’s because the brain blocks weight loss. By working with four “Bright Lines”—clear, unambiguous, boundaries—Susan shows us how to heal our brains and shift it into a mode where it is ready to shed pounds, release cravings, and stop sabotaging our weight loss goals. We at Lucinda Literary are grateful to be a part of the Bright Line Eating movement, a paradigm shift in nutrition and psychology alike that is changing the way we approach weight loss, helping tens of thousands of people across the globe be and stay happy, thin, and free. Featured in photo with Patty Gift, Susan’s editor at Hay House.

Peter Heller, bestselling author of the gorgeous, post-apocalyptic bestseller, THE DOG STARS spoke at Greenlight Bookstore with Emily St. John Mandel (Station Eleven) in Brooklyn as part of his book tour for Celine, already named an Indie and Denver Post bestseller, a luminous, masterful novel of suspense — the story of Celine, an elegant, aristocratic private eye who specializes in reuniting families, trying to make amends for a loss in her own past. We had the pleasure of witnessing Peter’s riveting discussion of his distinct craft of poetry and prose, how he begins a novel based on “the music of the first line” and how Celine was a means to spend more time with his mother who had recently passed away. In his latest Amazon article, “How I Went From Journalist To Fiction Writer” Peter details the wild path he trod to literary stardom, from his early beginnings as a pizza delivery boy and his first day in journalism when a man died in his arms. We’ll be reading Celine with Lucinda Literary’s Book Club at WeWork next month. (Email connor@lucindaliterary if you’re interested in joining!)

Along with Peter Heller, we are thrilled to have Ann Shoket join our speakers bureau in conjunction with her incredible new book THE BIG LIFE — a guide for millennial women who are changing what it means to be powerful and successful in the world. As the editor-in-chief of Seventeen and a co-founding editor of CosmoGIRL, Ann has been a key architect in shaping the national conversation for millennial women. Ann’s popular Badass Babes dinners with millennial women (and men) recently attracted the attention of Good Morning America and the New York Times, and is inspiring a generation of women who are determined to carve their own path, on their own terms. We are supremely excited to carry the millennial conversation with Ann and help young women tap into their ambition, honor their dreams, and create their own version of The Big Life. Find Ann on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

]]>http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2017/03/recent-highlights-lucinda-literary-march-2017/feed/07785Introducing Our New Speakers Bureau!http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2016/08/introducing-our-new-speakers-bureau/
http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2016/08/introducing-our-new-speakers-bureau/#respondWed, 17 Aug 2016 19:55:34 +0000http://www.lucindaliterary.com/?p=7691Read more »]]>We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new Speakers Bureau! Adding to our multi-pronged literary and marketing approach, our Speakers Bureau features distinct voices in literature who inspire audiences and facilitate progressive thought and conversation. Unlike traditional bureaus, our objective is to focus only on the work of authors and connect them with venues nationwide and globally.

]]>http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2016/08/introducing-our-new-speakers-bureau/feed/07691Book Jacket of The Week: How To Write Like Tolstoyhttp://www.lucindaliterary.com/2016/05/book-jacket-of-the-week-how-to-write-like-tolstoy/
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Our Book Jacket of The Week is Richard Cohen’s How To Write Like Tolstoyout this week from PenguinRandomHouse. We love the final cover art, which showcases an orange sketch of Leo Tolstoy sporting blue spectacles. We love the colors, we love the font, but most of all, we love the content inside! Apparently, we’re not the only ones.

“This book is a wry, critical friend to both writer and reader. It is filled with cogent examples and provoking statements. You will agree or quarrel with each page, and be a sharper writer and reader by the end.” – Hillary Mantel

“An elegant, chatty how-to book on writing well, using the lessons of many of the world’s best writers…” – Publishers Weekly

“These 12 essays are like 12 perfect university lectures on the craft of writing fiction... interesting, charming, and engaging.” – Library Journal.

Get a sneak peek beyond this lovely, colorful cover on LitHub. You can purchase How To Write Like Tolstoy here.

Richard Cohen is the former publishing director of Hutchinson and Hodder & Stoughton. Works that he has edited have gone on to win the Pulitzer, Booker, and Whitbread/Costa prizes, and more than twenty have been #1 bestsellers. The author of By the Sword, an award-winning history of swordplay, and Chasing the Sun, a wide-ranging narrative account of the star that gives us life, he was for two years program director of the Cheltenham Festival of Literature and for seven years a visiting professor in creative writing at the University of Kingston-upon-Thames.

]]>http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2016/05/book-jacket-of-the-week-how-to-write-like-tolstoy/feed/07473How Authors Can Get Media Attention: Advice from Booker Ashley Bernardihttp://www.lucindaliterary.com/2016/04/ashley-bernardi-broadcast-and-television-publicist-on-how-authors-can-get-media-attention/
http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2016/04/ashley-bernardi-broadcast-and-television-publicist-on-how-authors-can-get-media-attention/#respondSun, 03 Apr 2016 20:57:06 +0000http://www.lucindaliterary.com/?p=7350Read more »]]>We coupled up with superstar booker Ashley Bernardi, principal of Nardi Media, to talk about her work with authors and some lessons she’s gleaned from what really sells books to how authors can approach media themselves. (Though, we’ll be honest, it’s a heck of a lot easier with Ashley in your corner.) Here’s what she had to say.

1) What are the challenges authors face in getting booked on radio/television?

One of the main challenges that authors face is making the pitch relevant to the news cycle. We can overcome this challenge by using recent data, statistics, and research on the subject that was written about about to make the pitch buzzier and more relevant to the news cycle. Producers and reporters are fact-driven, so if we can present them with facts that tie in news of the day/week/month, and use the author and book as a jumping off point for a conversation about it — we usually see traction. I always try to use numbers, data, demographics, and more, to tie in a pitch. Sometimes the pitch is not just about the book itself – but where the author grew up, where he/she is based, and more. There is so much we can work with and that’s the best part about the process!

2) What can authors do to make themselves more attractive media candidates, and get a producer’s interest or attention? What are the most important “ingredients” to include in one’s pitch?

The approach to pitching radio and television varies, as well as the particular show you are pitching. Know who you are pitching and what the show has covered recently. Remember that a producer/reporter will do research on you, so it’s your job to do research on their show. What has been covered recently? Any pieces or segments that you liked or stood out to you? Is there a connection to your book or subject matter?

Another important factor is the pitch itself. You can and should specify and tailor a press advisory based off what a show covers. I usually never work with one generic press advisory. If you give a broad blanket advisory to every single national radio and television show, you won’t see results. But if you can tailor press advisories to specifically what a show covers (health, finance, etc), you’ll see results.

The most important ingredients to a broadcast pitch: Pre-existing video of the author(s) in an interview setting, street credibility (ie prior media placements in print, online, TV, radio), a pitch tailored specifically to what the show covers or has been covering, and making it newsworthy using recent statistics and data.

3) What kind of interviews are most effective? Does it always need to be a national media hit to cause an impact?

Obviously a national television or radio hit creates a big buzz and a wide range of exposure, but don’t discount the local radio stations, especially NPR affiliates. People who listen to NPR read books. I’ve had book authors do local interviews with NPR affiliates around the country, and they’ll see their book sales and Amazon ratings increase just from one radio interview alone.

There is also a huge added bonus to television and radio in today’s media world: online exposure. Nearly every television and radio segment now gets published online – which is a whole new audience reached!

4) Describe an author(s) success story.

We recently worked with two co-authors on a non-fiction sports book. The story had a very local tie to it, so my advice was to start small and start local. This builds up credibility and exposure before we pitch to national media — and it worked. This formula almost always works. We booked two local NPR stations were the story was based, as well as several local television outlets, and from there, the book’s broadcast publicity picked up steam. We were then able to secure some major broadcast bookings and placements, including NPR’s All Things Considered and CBS This Morning. The book also had a religious component to it, and we were able to place the authors on Christian radio stations, as well as a big interview on The Eternal World Television Network, the largest Catholic television channel in the world. It was a huge publicity success story with the right media strategy and approach.

5) Booking your clients on podcasts is a large and important part of your business. Can you explain to those who aren’t familiar what a podcast interview entails, and the unsung benefits they can have for authors?

Podcasts are very new and continue to grow quickly and provide a great way for authors to continue to build exposure and credibility. However, it’s important to do research each podcast we pitch and monitor the number of subscribers. Some podcasts have an enormous following (in the millions), and it would be worthy of an author’s time to get placed on the show. I rely on Stitcher.com to monitor the top-ranked podcasts, which they conveniently separate by topics. Podcast interviews usually last much longer than television and radio interviews, which is great. Additionally, they get placed online – so there is the added exposure component as well. I know my book authors have seen their sales increase just by doing a few podcasts — so I always urge to have us pitch them!

Ashley Bernardi is the creator of Nardi Media, LLC. She has helped countless clients achieve their broadcast outreach goals, including securing interviews and placements on NBC’s TODAY Show, CBS This Morning, MSNBC, CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg TV, NPR, and many more. In addition to booking media, Ashley manages satellite media tours, media strategy and training, producing and logistics. She is based in Washington, D.C.

December might entice those on the East Coast to kick into hibernation mode but we’ve been having an unusually warm winter season. Why not head out to hang with some of your favorite authors while giving back at the same time? Here’s a mini guide to some upcoming literary holiday parties in the city:

Wednesday, December 16th at 6:30pmPEN “Freedom To Write” MINGLESolas (Upstairs at 232 East 9th Street)
FREE (but rsvp required by 12/14 at membership@pen.org)

If you aren’t a member of PEN American Center, I’d suggest taking a look at all the wonderful things they do for the literary world at home and abroad. From assisting imprisoned writers to celebrating some of the best works in literature with their numerous awards, the PEN crowd is a welcoming and caring bunch.

Their holiday card event for imprisoned writers and their families is a year-end celebration of words and camaraderie. Come raise a glass with fellow writers, editors, and the literary community at large. Send a message of support to imprisoned writers and their families around the world. Co-hosted by Katie Freeman, Marisa Marchetto, Dinaw Mengestu, and Minky Worden.

In addition to professional membership, PEN also offers advocate membership which allows you to be apart of this amazing literary community even if you aren’t a published author.

BOMB invites you to Red Hook for a night of art, music, and drinks for a good cause. 100% of the revenue goes towards paying BOMB’s writers and artists from 2015. There will be compliment drinks, a show by Magik Markers (their first NYC performance in almost two years) and DJs Chances with Wolves. They also have a special cocktail hour option where you can mingle with special hosts Jem Cohen, David Grubbs, Ben Lerner, Betsy Sussler, Lynne Tillman, & Monica De La Torre.

Friend Ticket – Party with us at the beautiful Pioneer Works.Supporter Ticket – Additional entry to the VIP Cocktail Hour. Mingle with BOMB staff and our wonderful cocktail hosts. You’ll also receive a limited-edition lapel pin designed by Tom Otterness, a surprise from our friends at NYRB Classics, and m
ore.Patron Ticket – Get all of this plus an extremely rare slipcase edition of Tony Oursler’s epic Imponderable (JRP|Ringier & Artbook D.A.P.), a signed hardcover of BOMB: The Author Interviews (Soho Press), and a thank you on BOMB’s website.
Complimentary drinks courtesy of the great people at Other Half Brewing, Material Vodka, & Sixpoint Brewery. Eventbrite link in the title.

By Melissa X. Golebiowski

]]>http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2015/12/upcoming-nyc-literary-holiday-parties-for-a-good-cause/feed/07216Our Favorite Book Jacket of the Week: How to Be a Grown-Uphttp://www.lucindaliterary.com/2015/07/our-favorite-book-jacket-of-the-week-how-to-be-a-grown-up/
http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2015/07/our-favorite-book-jacket-of-the-week-how-to-be-a-grown-up/#respondTue, 28 Jul 2015 21:00:13 +0000http://www.lucindaliterary.com/?p=6436Read more »]]>

By Melissa X. Golebiowski

This book cover for bestselling authors Nicola Kraus & Emma McLauglin’s (authors of The Nanny Diaries) latest release, out today,How To Be A Grown Up, shows us what it’s like to walk in two shoes at once. The novel’s heroine, Rory McGovern, finds herself juggling both single parenthood and a full time career after her actor husband decides to walk and leave her solo.

Rory, newly in her forties, finds herself working for two twentysomethings at a luxury lifestyle site for kids, JeuneBug. (Of course, no one at the company but Rory has any children of their own.) Rory has her feet in two different worlds; will she fall flat on her face or come up with a successful game plan?

The cover shoes are reflective of two completely different styles but come with an interesting backstory.

The Chuck behind the Converse brand was Chuck Taylor, a high school basketball player who fell in love with Converse All Stars and became an extremely successful traveling salesmen of the shoe by specially selling them to high school and college basketball teams. With a successful athletic branding behind the shoe, Converse also became the official training shoe for the military during WWII.

Keeping with the theme of battle, high heels were actually a part of the 16th Century Persian soldier’s uniform. When riding horseback, the heels dug comfortably into the stirrups and enabled the warriors to stand up & shoot as they rode in to fight. The high heel was originally created for this purpose and gained popularity in many horse riding cultures. Women picked up the high heel habit in the 1600’s when they started adopting male fashion. Fast forward to the present and it’s a staple of female fashion today.

We have a feeling that with this kind of footwear in tow, Rory will come up a solid strategy to conquer the odds.

]]>http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2015/07/our-favorite-book-jacket-of-the-week-how-to-be-a-grown-up/feed/06436Free Ways to Successfully Prioritize Time and Energy During Your Book Launchhttp://www.lucindaliterary.com/2015/07/free-ways-to-successfully-prioritize-time-and-energy-during-your-book-launch/
http://www.lucindaliterary.com/2015/07/free-ways-to-successfully-prioritize-time-and-energy-during-your-book-launch/#respondSun, 12 Jul 2015 20:45:41 +0000http://www.lucindaliterary.com/?p=5871Read more »]]>It’s expensive to launch a “successful” book, whether the investment is the publisher’s, yours, or a combination of both. And by successful, I’m not even talking about New York Times bestsellers, whose successes seem as much the result of a quantifiable financial investment as they are the result of unquantifiable variables like reader enthusiasm and sheer serendipity. By successful, I’m referring to any book that earns out its publisher’s investment and sells through its first printing. Any author who’s gotten that far should be immensely proud.

Here are some of the most critical costs I’ve seen responsible for creating a successful book:

*Print run (the number of books printed)
*Co-op (exhibition or shelf space the publisher is buying, whether at Barnes and Noble or Amazon.com, to offer your book exposure to browsers. Involved explanation here.)
*Marketing & publicity (ranging from advertising to a freelance publicist)
*Buying back books (for events or giveaway/review purposes)

For authors who receive an advance in the tens of thousands of dollars, a robust first print run, co-op, or hefty publicity/events support isn’t likely. And even the rare, proactive publicist who works with you at your publishing house…his/her efforts may simply not translate. If your hope is to exceed expectations and give your book a real shot on the market, you will need to find ways to supplement what’s lacking in the publisher’s investment.

Here are some ways to properly prioritize your time and energy that won’t cost you a dime, excludinggas money.-Ask first about print run and distribution.
If your initial print run is 10,000 or less, distribution and general visibility is going to be limited at best. Understanding that obstacle, ask your publisher through which channel they expect you to sell most books and focus your energies accordingly. Perhaps it’s Amazon, in which case having an online strategy (both theirs and yours) is important. Perhaps it’s speaking events, in which case, you might consider hiring a lecture agent or outside publicist to focus on events.

-Write prolifically, in advance, during, and after publication.Don’t count on book reviews; you’ll want to do a lot of extra writing to promote your book and capture new readers. But not all of this time and work should be free, especially if you or your publicist is able to secure a major media channel for it. Think of creative story angles your book lends itself to, or unique experiences or perspectives you’ve gleaned from your own C.V. In the digital world, everyone’s looking for “experts,” and everyone’s an expert in something.

-If you’re not great with social media, find the people who are.Whether you have three hundred followers on Twitter or three thousand, we can all get by with a little help from our friends! What’s essential about being plugged into social media, no matter how novice or apprehensive you feel about it personally, is that you begin to see and connect with people much “larger” or more connected than you. Those people, with their thousands and thousands of followers, can be your best allies at publication when it comes to needing big mouths to say a positive word about your book to a wide audience. If a popular author has turned you down for a blurb, your next ask could be for a tweet or an Instagram post with the book jacket.

-Do not neglect Amazon reviews.It’s natural to obsess over what media attention your book is or is not getting. But media attention or not, however people come across your book, a page with sparse or non-dynamic reader reviews will present as less credible and enticing. Do a preliminary ask to your network for Amazon reviews at the time of the book’s publication (and know that on Goodreads, you can have friends and readers leave reviews in advance of publication. May be worth giving away ten copies to garner those early reviews from active Goodreads members or bloggers.) On business cards or postcards you create and hand out wherever you’re networking, ask explicitly for Amazon reviews explicitly.

-Check your sales numbers, not your Amazon ranking.
Amazon rankings rely on algorithms based all sorts of factors; they’re highly imperfect tools when it comes to monitoring performance. If you have an Amazon Author Central account (recommended!), you can regularly access your Bookscan numbers, even while understanding that Bookscan numbers are never entirely reflective or real-time sales. Monitor if certain publicity, social media exposure, or an event has caused an uptick during a given week. Ask your agent or publisher for regular sales reports (bi-monthly at the beginning, monthly after that) so you can get a sense of what’s working and what’s not. Why invest time and money without measuring its return?

-Cozy up with booksellers.
Take advantage of this gorgeous summer weather and take a road trip to visit independent bookstores in neighboring areas (or better, where you know your primary readers live). First make sure your book is in stock at the stores you plan to visit. Then walk in and offer to sign stock. Strike up a friendly conversation with the bookstore owner. That owner is far more likely to give you window space and recommend your book after making a face to face connecting and perhaps even reading it. If your book isn’t in stock at the bookstores you’re looking to visit, bring copies, and give the bookstore manager a signed copy. Perhaps he/she will want to make an order…

-Be vocal.
Keep a regular dialogue with your agent, editor, and publicist about what’s working, what isn’t, and what you can be doing to help. If you don’t ask questions, you won’t get answers.